“Does Victoria hate me in this timeline, too?”
He laughs. “To retain some semblance of reality, I’ll say she’s skeptical of you. But my siblings didn’t come, obviously, and neither did Brooke. They’d be at home, where they would be safe and healthy and not intruding on our romantic holiday.”
His voice cracks at the mention of Victoria’s health, and guilt burns my stomach like acid.
“Do you want to turn around and stay with her? I can keep going on my own,” I say.
He furiously blinks back his tears. “No.No.We’re avoiding reality by pretending everything is fine. Help me out here, Wheeler. I learned from the best.”
I squeeze his hand in mine. “What happened when we saw each other again? In Portugal?”
He clears his throat. “Right. Our reunion. I was so bloody nervous. What if things were different?”
“And were they?”
He tilts his head back to the sky, considering this. I’m not sure if he’s pondering a real answer or a fake one. “I’d started to wonder if I’d made you up. Like maybe in my head, you were a little bit prettier, quicker, funnier. I’d imagined that moment hundreds of times, and by the time it arrived, I was worried reality wouldn’t live up to the you in my head, because how could it.”
I slant him a look. “It’s impossible to overestimate how funny I am.”
Theo laughs. “True. But my imagination sucks arse, because it forgot the way your nose scrunches when you’re pretending to be mad at me, and the way your eyes light up when I say your name, and the way I’m happiest when I’m with you, even when comets or airplanes are literally falling out of the sky.”
My heart is beating too fast. This was supposed to be a game of pretend, but it’s gotten way too real. He doesn’t know that I let Victoria’s purse sink because of a stupid grudge, and the sweeter he is, the guiltier I feel.
A strong wave sweeps over our legs, and I realize we’ve drifted deeper into the ocean than I thought. I stop in my tracks.
Theo rubs a hand over the back of his neck. “Was that too much?”
A breeze rolls through the trees and scatters goose bumps along my arms, and I can’t pretend for another second.
“We have to go back and be with Victoria.”
He furrows his brow. “We’re looking for help.”
“You know there’s no help out here.” I throw my arms wide in the black. “This is all there is. Either rescue comes or it doesn’t, but either way, we need to be with your sister. She’s putting on a brave face, but she’s not okay.”
He freezes for one heart-stopping second, and then he takes my hand. “You’re right. Let’s go be with her.”
If possible, I feel even worse. “I’ll feel so guilty if anything happens to her.”
He silences me with a kiss. “I already told you not to worry about the phone call. C’mon.”
He tugs us back down the beach. My calves burn from trekking through sand, but before long we find Victoria hauling an armful of firewood.
She stops to catch her breath. “Did you find anything?”
Theo shakes his head. “Nah. We’re back to hang out with you.”
She puts her hand on her hip and cocks it. “Why?”
“Wren was worried. Turns out she likes you, despite your best efforts.” Theo unloads a handful of branches from Victoria’s arms. She looks annoyed and relieved at the same time.
“He’s lying,” I say dryly. We can’t go letting the princess know just how worried I am about her.
Theo chuckles. “Your conscience wouldn’t be so guilty if you didn’t like her at least a little bit.”
“Guilty?” Victoria’s eyes snap to mine. “You told him about my bag?”
“Told me what?” Theo frowns.
